Composite fence post and method of forming the same



h 5, 1935. H, E, AusTm 1,993,049

COMPOSITE FENCE POST AND METHOD OF FORMING THE SAME Filed Oct. 21, 1932 Patented Mar. 5 1935 PATENT" OFFICE COMPOSITE FENCE POST AND METHOD OF FORMING THE SAME Harold E. Austin,

Louisville, Ky., assignor to American Creosoting Company, Louisville, Ky., a corporation of Delaware V Application October 21 1932, Serial No. 638,977 7 4 Claims. (Cl. 2099) This invention relates to composite fence posts, which are built up from units of approximately identical form, and to methods of forming'the same in situ by driving the post units into the ground.

Woodfence posts present several advantages over steel posts, such as upkeep, and greater resistance to displacement when driven into the ground. By use of driving caps such as described in my copending application, Serial No. 638,976, filed October 21, 1932, wood fence posts may be driven with the same facility as steel posts.

Objects of the present invention are to provide composite or reinforced fence posts built up from a plurality of rectangular post units of approximately identical shape, and to provide novel methods of forming thesame. Further objects are to provide a corner or gate post and a method of forming the same, which construction and method are characterized by the driving of aplurality of unit postsinto the ground in such manner as to developthe maximum resistance to movement of the post structure.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following specification when taken with the accompanying drawing, in which,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a fence system which includes a plurality of posts constructed in accordance with this invention,

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one unit of a composite post structure, showing, in dotted lines, the original or standard form of post units, and

Fig. 3 is a perspective view illustrating an intermediate stage in the formation of a driven composite post.

In the drawing, the reference numeral 1 identifies a Wood fence post of rectangular crosssection which has a wedge-shaped lower end 2 formed by chamfering the opposite longer sides of the posts, the extreme end of the post being cut off, as indicated at 3, Fig. 2, to provide a driving end face of small but appreciable width. Along the length of the fence, the posts consist of single units of this shape which are driven into the ground.

In accordance with this invention, the posts which are subjected to greater stresses than those which may arise at an intermediate point in the fence are formed from a plurality of unit post members substantially identical with the.

post 1. Gate posts, corner posts, and preferably the posts adjacent a corner post are coneconomy in cost and in of the three element posts which provide greater groundresistance afforded by a single post element. example, the rectangular post ele' a cross section of twoinches by three structed to than that When, for ments have inches, the corner posts 0 and the adjacent brac- .5

ing posts B of two post by five inches and three by four inches, respectively.

Each element of a composite post is individual- 10 1y driven into the ground and, in-the drawing, the order of driving oft e post elements is indicated by the Roman numerals-I, Hand III. The unit I of a two or three element post is driven in the same manner as that employed in placing the intermediate fence posts 1, and the element I consists of a standard unit 1 having a wedge-shaped end 2. The additional elements 1 of acomposite post structure do not have, however, a wedge-shaped driving end but are formed'by cutting off the end of a standard unit post to provide a single inclined faced or chiselshapecl driving end. I L The double bevel of the wedge-shaped end will effect a maximum compression of the ground in a direction normal to thecentrally located entering edge of the post. The same differential compression takes place when a chisel-end post is driven into the ground and, due also to the chisel shape, these units are forced into close engagement with the post units already driven. After driving the first unit I of a composite post, the second unit II is placed against the driven post and with its chisel. surface 4 so positioned that the driving of the post II into 35 the ground will compact the earth to increase the resistance to movement of the post in the direction of the increased strain (above that to which intermediate posts are subjected) which is imposed upon the composite post. In the case are to be braced against excess strains in a direction at right angles to the general line of the fence, the longer side of the third element III is placed along the meeting short sides of elements I and II, and with its chisel face 4 directed away from the same.

As best shown in Fig. 3, the chisel edge 4 of a second unit II will lie flush with one surface of are conveniently formed of three and,

the wedge edge 2 of the unit I, when the top sur- 50 units to have cross sections of four my copending application. When the second and third elements of a composite structure are driven to such position that the lower edge of the driving cap is adjacent the top of the previously driven element or elements, a wedge 6, which may be a nail, is forced between the driven and partially driven post elements to provide a clearance for the side walls of the driving cap. As shown in solid lines in Fig. 3, the elements I and II have been driven to their final positions, and the wedge 6 is inserted to permit the further driving of the element III from its illustrated intermediate'position into its final position, as shown in dotted lines. The flexibility of the portion of the post element above the ground line is sufficient to permit driving of the auxiliary elements without disturbing the close engagement of those adjacent surfaces of the elements which are located below the ground level.

The composite post structures are preferably braced by woodstrips 7 and twisted wires 8 which extend to adjacent posts, and the bracing strips 7 may be formed by cutting off the tapered ends 2 of the standard post units 1. In general, an assembly of three post elements will be sufiicient to withstand the stresses imposed upon a corner or gate post, but the invention is not limited to the use of any given, number of post elements in a composite structure. The chisel faces of the second elements of two bracing posts B are arranged at right angles to each other to afford a maximum ground resistance in the different directions best adapted to prevent collapse or movement of thecorner post C,

The posts are preferably treated to prevent or delay deterioration under varying atmospheric conditions, for example, by creosoting, but the invention is not limited in its application either to treated or to untreated posts. 1

I claim: l. A composite fence post structure comprising a driven post element having a wedge-shaped driving end, and a plurality of driven separate post elements having chisel-shaped driving ends, said elements being of rectangular cross-section with adjacent plane surfaces in contact with each other, and the chisel surfaces of said plurality of post elements being normal to each other and facing away from said wedge-shaped post element.

2. The process of forming a composite post structure from a plurality of post elements having, respectively, wedge-shaped and chisel-shaped driving ends, which process comprises driving into the ground a post element having a wedge-shaped driving end, driving into the ground a post element in contact with said driven element and having its chisel-shaped driving end parallel to one surface of the tapered end of said driven element, and driving into the ground and in contact with said first post element another element having a chisel surface which is substantially normal to the chisel-shaped surface of said second post element.

3. The process of forming a driven post assembly from a post element having a wedge-shaped driving end and a plurality of post elements having chisel-shaped driving ends, which process comprises driving into the ground the post element having a wedge-shaped driving end, positioning said plurality of elements with chiselshaped driving ends with one face thereof in contact respectively with different faces of said driven post element and with the chisel surface of said plurality of post elements at angles to each other, and successively driving into the ground the said plurality of post elements having chiselshaped driving ends.

4. The invention as set forth in claim 3, wherein the chisel surface of one of said plurality of post elements is positioned parallel to one tapered surface of said first element, and the chisel surface of a second of said plurality of post elements is substantially normal to the tapered surface of said first post element.

7 V HAROLD E. AUSTIN. 

